The PD in keffiyehs. Everyone’s taking to the streets to protest against the Anti-Semitism Bill; Schlein’s young supporters will be there (along with the editorial board of Rep.).

Anti-Semitic? Who? Can Paolo Signorelli, Lollobrigida’s new (old) spokesperson, be accused of anti-Semitic chat messages and of sabotaging the Anti-Semitism Bill in the Chamber of Deputies? A wound is about to reopen on the left, within the PD, and risks ending once again in pangs of conscience, street marches and an intifada of brutality. On 9 September, the Anti-Semitism Bill arrives in committee at Montecitorio – the very law that has divided the PD and isolated a gentleman such as Graziano Delrio. In the Senate, the PD abstained, with the exception of the reformists, but in the Chamber of Deputies one might even vote ‘no’ and wear a keffiyeh as a pocket square. (Caruso continues in Supplement VII)

In the Senate, the session concluded with a flurry of proposals, as Senator Giorgis of the PD circulated draft legislation and Francesco Boccia called the reformists to order. In the Chamber of Deputies, the PD’s turmoil over the anti-Semitism bill is expected to intensify. This is where the hardline wing, the Boldrini faction, is to be found. How will Fassino, Quartapelle, and even the group leader herself, Chiara Braga, react in turn when the time comes to decide? Also on 9 September, just a few metres from the Chamber of Deputies, in Piazza Capranica, a rally is being organised under the slogan ‘Solidarity cannot be put on trial, dissent cannot be silenced’. The list of organisers is extensive, ranging from ARCI and ANPI to the GDs and even the editorial board of the daily newspaper La Repubblica. As usual, the IHRA definition is being contested – the very one that Elly Schlein, as a Member of the European Parliament, voted in favour of. On 31 August, in Il Foglio, Sandra Zampa sounded the alarm: “The PD must show unity”.

But united with whom? With the party’s young members marching outside, or with the Jewish community calling for approval? There are two major issues that the PD prefers to downplay at the Festa dell’Unità in Reggio Emilia: Israel and Ukraine. It is equally true that the right remains silent on Ukraine to avoid division, postponing aid packages for Kyiv. The PD, however, needs to present a government proposal. Livia Ottolenghi, the new president of the Jewish communities, had congratulated the Senate on passing the bill and criticised the opposition: “It is strange that they did not support it”. Gadi Luzzato Voghera, director of the Foundation for Contemporary Jewish Documentation (CDEC) and a long-standing member of the Italian Communist Party (PCI), had already spoken out on the contested definition during a hearing. Voghera explained that the “IHRA definition is not only correct but necessary”. It is a tool. Let us revisit it. It reads: “Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews that may be expressed as hatred towards Jews. Verbal and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed towards Jews or non-Jews and/or their property, towards Jewish community institutions and buildings used for worship.” On that day, the PD runs the risk of being sidelined by the public. Peppe Provenzano has been entrusted with mediation, and – as with Ukraine before the summer – another round of negotiations with Conte is expected, with the ‘primaries’ to decide who comes out on top in Palestine. Can one go after a young man like Signorelli over anti-Semitism and yet abstain on the anti-Semitism bill?